New Zealand skipper Amelia Kerr, newly appointed skipper, scored 80 runs and also picked up a five-for in the third ODI against Zimbabwe today (March 11).
Kerr has taken over the role of captain from Sophie Devine, who stepped down after the 2025 ODI World Cup. Kerr’s first assignment was leading in the home T20Is against Zimbabwe, which began last week.
New Zealand won the series 3-0, followed by another whitewash in the ODI series that ended on Wednesday. Kerr was the standout performer in both - she made 183 runs in the three T20Is at a strike rate of 177.66, and then shone with both bat and ball in the ODIs, with 140 runs in three innings, along with 16 wickets at a stunning average of 5.68. It is the second-most wickets taken by a bowler in a single ODI series, after Pakistan’s Shaiza Khan’s tally of 22, which she took across seven games against the Netherlands in 2001.
3rd ODI, New Zealand Women vs Zimbabwe Women
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Kerr repeats own unique record
Opening the innings, Kerr, who batted alongside Emma McLeod, struck a fluent 80 off 106, with ten boundaries. Maddy Green contributed with a 73-ball 94, as New Zealand posted 303-6 on the board. In reply, Zimbabwe were in tatters rightaway: they slipped to 55-4, before Kerr entered the attack in the 22nd over. She picked up a wicket with the fifth ball she bowled, dismissing Christabel Chatonzwa for three. She returned to pick up a hat-trick, her first and the 14th overall in women's ODIs: She sent back Adel Zimunu, Audrey Mazvishaya and Tendai Makusha off successive deliveries to complete the feat. Kerr also sent back skipper Nomvelo Sibanda to wrap up the Zimbabwe innings for 103.
She picked up five wickets in just 3.1 overs; the shortest completed spell bowled for a five-wicket haul in women’s ODI history. She ended with 5-22, following her figures of 4-35 and 7-34 from earlier in the series. Chaminda Vaas, Mohammed Siraj and Ali Khan jointly hold the men's record for the fastest ODI five-wicket haul, getting there in 16 balls; Kerr's five-for in 19 deliveries is close to this mark, but official records for this in the women's game are limited.
Kerr also scored a fifty and picked up a five-for for the second time in her career - she had also picked up a five-for when she scored an unbeaten 232 against Ireland in 2018. Overall, this is just the sixth instance in women's ODIs; Kerr is the only one to do it twice, and the only one to do it as an opener (both times).
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